Persian Yogurt Soup (Ashe Mast)

Sometimes I cook as a creative expression, with new food combinations.

Sometimes I cook for self-nurturing and head for the chocolate.

Sometimes I cook to give; to celebrate the community of family and friendship.

But sometimes I cook for sanity.

Monday started with being shot from a cannon. Before I’d gotten fully out of bed, I was alerted to a problem with a project I’ve been working on. I pulled on baggy sweatpants, shrugged into an old sweatshirt softened by hundreds of washings, flipped on the heat, and plunged in to work on the issues.

Mid-morning, we got the pricing for our new kitchen remodel. After I picked myself off the floor, I realized I didn’t just feel sick from being jerked into a Monday. I really didn’t feel good. My throat hurt, my body was achy, and I felt a little warm.

But I had another writing project due that I needed to complete. And I still needed to do my homework for an Italian class I’m taking. Mamma mia!

Finally towards the end of the afternoon, I saw a recipe on Heidi’s 101 Cookbooks for a Persian Yogurt Soup. I was drawn in by her bright photos, who wouldn’t be?, but what sealed the deal was that a yogurt soup requires a lot of tending to ensure it doesn’t break. Now you might think that after a day that took way more from me than gave back, I might just want take-out from the Indian restaurant down the street. But what I really needed was the solace of a cooking meditation.

A cooking mediation is something that requires careful attention to a repeated action. The rhythm of kneading bread with one hand and moving the dough scraper with the other comes to mind. It lulls like deep,even, yogic-breathing. Stirring a yogurt soup does that for me. As I stirred it, keeping it to just barely a simmer, testing the rice now and then for doneness, I could feel my shoulders relax from the tight hunch they’d been in all day.

The beauty of this soup is its subtlety. Assertive onion softens in the yogurt broth and blends with golden lentils and chickpeas. The colors of the finished soup is a winter scene of white and cream, everything a whisper.

Cook’s Tips

A word of warning. Slow down. Yogurt warmed up too fast and too hot will break. And I recommend full fat yogurt to help prevent this from happening.

Stir the soup, then wash some baby kale for a salad. Stir again, and slice an avocado to go with the kale. Stir, test the rice and lentils, then stir some more. Make a mustard vinaigrette to dress the salad. Stir as you watch the soup thicken from the egg and cornstarch. At the end, sauté some garlic and mint in butter and stir into the soup. The result is a rich, quiet soup somehow full of flavor.

Use a heavy bottom pot like a Le Creuset that maintains an even heat across the bottom surface. This will help prevent the yogurt from breaking too.

Prep everything ahead so you can focus on the soup.

Wimpy Tips

Mix together some yogurt, minced garlic, cardamom, coriander, turmeric, and salt. Rub it all over a couple of chicken breasts (or a whole chicken). Pull the skin away from the meat and spoon some yogurt marinade in the pocket. Marinate for a few hours or overnight in the refrigerator. Roast for the meat-eaters at the table.

Before we launch into the recipe, I wanted to check in with another poll. As a recap, this is for my cookbook proposal I’m wrapping up over the next week or so. I want to make sure I’m focusing the book in a way that makes the most sense to you! Thanks to everyone who voted in the first poll. If you haven’t voted on the poll relating to how much time you spend cooking dinner during the week, you still can vote. [yop_poll id=”3″]

Instructions

Heat the oil over medium high heat and add the grated onion and fennel. Sauté until fragrant and softened, about ten minutes. Add the rice and lentils and continue to cook for five minutes, occasionally stirring.

Lower the heat to medium-low heat and stir in the broth. Whisk the egg and stir it in, along with the yogurt, cornstarch, salt and pepper. Stir until well combined and uniform.

The liquid should be only luke warm. Slowly bring the mixture just a hint shy of a simmer - this should take at least 15 minutes. It should thicken a bit at this point. Maintain this level of very low simmer until the rice and beans are cooked, about 30 minutes.

When the rice and lentils are cooked through, add ½ cup of the green onions, parsley, fennel fronds, and chickpeas, and continue to stir. You want the chickpeas to heat through completely.

In a small saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter, add the garlic, remaining green onions, and mint, and sauté until the garlic begins to toast a bit, about two minutes. Stir into the soup.

Serve with crusty bread and a baby kale salad dressed in a mustard vinaigrette.

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Comments

maybe i am missing it cause i am rushing but i wish this site had a tab for saving recipes to my own recipe box . i am not always home when i stumble upon one of your lovely recipes and i am not as computer savvy as i would like..just a wish

Thanks so much for letting me know! There’s a button in the recipe part of the post that allows you to email it. You could mail it to yourself and have it in your inbox. As for saving it in your recipe box, what program do you use for your recipe box? I’m happy to see what I can do on my end!!The Wimpy Vegetarian recently posted..Persian Yogurt Soup (Ashe Mast)

I love Persian food, have never had this before but must try it. My favorite Persian soup is ash e reshteh, full of vegetables, herbs, beans. This sounds like the perfect hearty soup, a real cure for what ails you. Hope you are not sick, did you come down with a cold?apuginthekitchen recently posted..More Awards, I Am So Thankful!!!

I’m going to look into reshteh now. It looks perfect for me. I’m loving any food middle-eastern these days, and am thoroughly enjoying cooking my way through Jeruselem cookbook. Oh the cold, I had a sore throat for a couple days, along with achy muscles, and feeling exhausted. And then it just disappeared. Thankfully.The Wimpy Vegetarian recently posted..Persian Yogurt Soup (Ashe Mast)

What an interesting soup. I’ve never had anything like this. Lots of great ingredients and high in protein with all of those beans. Great recipe Susan!mjskit recently posted..Twinkle Light Parade Albuquerque 2013

I'm a mostly vegetarian married to a mostly carnivore and am on a constant hunt for healthy, delicious recipes we'll both like. Most recipes here are vegetarian with tips for adding meat or fish for the meat-eaters at the table. Whether you're vegetarian, or just wanting to eat less meat, I hope you'll find inspiration here to try something new for your own table, even if you're sharing it with someone with different eating preferences.
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